Brothers live Hilux life with nine dogs

Michael Squires, front, brother Stephen Squires and their family in their home yesterday.
Picture: ROGER CUMMINS

It is a dog's life living out of a car. There is no TV, running water or much space, especially when the family wagon houses a brother, a dog, a bitch and seven puppies.

A Melbourne court was told yesterday that homeless brothers Michael and Stephen Squires had been forced to live with Red and Bluey and their 10-week-old offspring for the past three months because having hounds excluded them from getting emergency housing.

The unexpected union of Stephen's dog Red with Michael's Bluey - after Michael was jailed this year for repeat driving offences - produced the litter.

Michael Squires used the unplanned pregnancy as grounds in March for an appeal to the County Court that reduced his sentence on repeat driving offences. He claimed his beloved Bluey would never had fallen pregnant if he was not in jail and as such suffered hardship from that and the 12-month sentence.

Magistrate Noel Purcell was astonished yesterday with Michael Squires' prior convictions since 1993 that included 17 for driving while disqualified, nine for unlicensed driving and eight for driving an unregistered vehicle. "If I wasn't reading this," Mr Purcell said of the priors, "I'd think someone was making it up."

Defence lawyer Michael Gleeson told Melbourne Magistrates Court that Michael Squires, 31, lived in his car for three years before being jailed this year for similar offences.

Mr Gleeson said that since Michael Squires was released on parole last month, the brothers had lived together in Stephen's dual-cab Toyota Hilux.

Mr Gleeson said Michael slept on the back seat and his brother in the front, with the nine dogs bunked among them.

"You are just making this up," Mr Purcell said. "I wish I was," replied Mr Gleeson, who said that in three weeks Michael would finally apply for a licence.

Mr Purcell noted that Michael Squires, who pleaded guilty to unlicensed driving and driving an unregistered vehicle, was not a bad driver, and convicted and fined him $1000.

Michael Squires said outside the court that with a licence "I know I won't get into trouble again. I had no choice but to drive," he said, blaming personal emergencies and work commitments. He and Stephen also advised they had pups for sale.